Monthly Archives: March 2016

I left high school around 2:20. It was a sunny and warm April day. When I got home, I noticed that I received mail from CCBC. I opened it to find a scholarship! I was so excited because I never even expected to receive any type of scholarship. I then learned that I would have to become a student ambassador because of the scholarship. That just meant that I would have to volunteer a total of 60 hours to keep my 2 year scholarship. After I learned that I received the scholarship, I knew that my experience at CCBC was going to be great!

I have loved being a student ambassador. First, we had an orientation, so I got to make new friends a month before school actually started. I also got to take a tour of the school at our orientation which was nice because it prepared me for the orientation of the entire freshman class. I also enjoyed volunteering at events because I was able to meet up with the other ambassadors and talk to them. Also, volunteering at different events allowed me to see some of the other programs that CCBC has to offer! Then, I also got to work with some of the CCBC staff. Working with the staff was great; in fact, they were always very helpful and friendly. I know that if I ever needed help, I could go to any of them. Over all, being a student ambassador was an amazing experience, and I am so thankful I was given the opportunity.

In high school, emailing never seemed that important to me. Frankly, I never really had to send any important messages and I never received them. My email just seemed like something that I needed to have set up so I could make social media accounts. And on the rare occasions I did send an email, it was almost always unprofessional,sloppy, and full of spelling errors.

But we aren’t in high school anymore. To be successful in a college environment, knowing how to properly contact your peers and teachers through email is important. It may not seem like it, but email is the formal type of electronic communication and as such, composing a proper email is vastly important.

When starting an email always include a simple subject in the available space. Don’t overcomplicate it, it should be short and give the recipient a general idea of what the message is about.

Once you ready to compose the actual body of the message, start off by greeting the recipient. Always refer to them by the most professional title you can and never call them by first name unless specifically asked to. After your greeting, end with a comma and press enter twice to begin composing your message. Try and keep you content here as brief as possible within the means of respectfulness. A lengthy email confuses the information you’re trying to get across.

Once you’re completed, end with a departing remark, add a comma, press enter twice, and leave your full name.

I hope this was somewhat helpful. I’ve included an example below.

Subject: This is an example

Hello Dr. Not Real Person,

I just needed to briefly speak with you about a matter that is completely irrelevant.

Don’t get me wrong, I love spring break. I love having a whole week where I don’t have to worry about studying, homework, clinical, or anything involving college. It’s amazing. It’s fun. It’s relaxing. You can only go so hard for so long. Everyone needs a break so they don’t burn out before the end of the semester. Spring break provides just that, allowing all students to refresh themselves.

But unfortunately, it only lasts a week. And then it’s back to the grind. If you’re like me, you find that it is really really REALLY hard to get back into the swing of things. It takes a while to get your brain, attitude, and work ethic back into school mode. In nursing school, you don’t have a lot of time to get back into the frame of mind. So I have compiled a few ideas on how to get things jump-started. 🙂

A few days before school starts again, look at your notes from before break. Refresh your mind on the information you were last taught.

Review your planner/schedule and make sure that there isn’t anything that is due the day you return. (That is the worst feeling when you come to school, everyone is talking about the assignment and you are standing there like “what assignment??”)

Make sure to go to bed at a decent time the night before so that you are rested and refreshed for the first day back.

These aren’t full proof and they may not help everyone, but they sure do help me prepare for the rest of the semester. Welcome back from spring break guys!

As a freshman in college, I was very hesitant about attending a community college when all of my friends went away and got to experience the “college life.” They were able to meet new people from all around the country, try new experiences, get the “stay on campus” experience, and know what it is like to be away from home. I was very jealous of my friends that they got to go to Penn State, Slippery Rock, or even NYU. I thought that I was missing out, but through the first semester I have had here at CCBC, I realized that MY College is much more intriguing and amazing than I thought.

Here at CCBC, they do have a lot of benefits that I have come to realize. The first thing that I have learned from the first day at CCBC is that people are from all over the place. One of my classmates was from Texas coming to CCBC for the amazing pilot program they offer. It was truly astonishing to hear is stories and experience the culture he brought to our small town. Another thing that I have learned is that CCBC offers many campus activities that brings the small town together. My favorite event so far was the Native American Gathering. It was so unique to have such a vibrant culture be celebrated right where I’m from, and let’s be honest, the food was AMAZING!

Now the one thing I was worried about the most is that I wasn’t able to leave home, but the more I stay here, the more I realize that I love it. I get to sleep in my own bed, I get home cooked meals daily, I have constant support by my family, and I don’t have to pay rent. It truly is a blessing. Speaking of money, CCBC is such an affordable school that in the end, I am going to barely have any loans to pay off and all of my friends, that I was once jealous of, are going to be strapped down in debt.

I think people don’t thoroughly see the outstanding qualities that CCBC gives. People really need to see that even though we may be small, we are a strong unit that experiences new cultures in our own way, live for rent free, get the support we need, and end up in very little debt. I am so proud of the decision I made to attend CCBC and you should be proud of the decisions that led you here too.

I have struggled a lot in the past with managing my time effectively. It’s not that I’m lazy, but frankly, I’m extremely forgetful and time can get away from me. There’s only 24 hours in the day and between school, homework, work, and socializing, something always suffers. I know I’m not the only one who struggles to maintain a healthy balance, so I thought I’d include some of the tips I’ve found helpful in managing my time.

The first tip I can give anyone is start tracking your time. Physically write down what you do hour to hour over a few days and suddenly you start to notice how much time you probably are wasting. For me, the biggest waster I saw was social media. I realized I was spending over two hours total a day on tumblr/facebook. It was a huge wake up call.

Secondly, I would recommend keeping an appointment book or a schedule. I find physically writing down what I need to be doing focuses me and furthermore leaves a reference for later if I forget.

Thirdly, and most important…Do not multitask. I know that we all think we can juggle three or four simple tasks at once but it’s frankly not feasible. If you want to finish several tasks quickly, the smartest way to do it is one task at a time. Multiple studies have been done demonstrating that the human brain is incapable of focusing on more than a single task at a time. What you’re actually doing when you multitask is switching your brain focus rapidly between those goals and this slows the entire process down significantly.

Whatever you do, just don’t allow yourself to waste time, it’s the most valuable commodity that you have!